Electrical power is supplied by an electric utility to individual use sites by power line conductors which extend from the utility poles to a meter socket mounted on a convenient surface at the use site. The power line conductors are physically connected to line jaw contacts in the meter socket. Distribution conductors extend from load jaws mounted in the socket throughout the use site.
An electric power watthour meter is provided for measuring the power consumed by a use site by measuring the current drawn by the use site from the line to the load conductors. A watthour meter typically has a base on which metering components are mounted. Blade terminals extend from the base for interconnection in the socket line and load jaw contacts so as to place the meter in series between the power line conductors and the power load conductors. A dome historically formed of glass surrounds the electromechanical components mounted on the watthour meter base. The dome includes a mounting flange having slots which engage mating projections on the base so as to lock the dome to the base when the dome is rotated 10xc2x0 after connection to the base. A seal or key is used to then lock the dome to the base.
With the advent of electronic meters and automatic meter reading equipment, the glass dome has been replaced with a plastic dome or cover typically having a view window in an end wall for viewing an electronic display of power consumption. The plastic domes are still formed with a mounting flange with slots for engagement with a standard meter base carrying the blade terminals and metering components.
The watthour meter is installed in the socket and/or a socket adapter or socket extender mounted in the socket which also carries mating jaw contacts by inserting the meter blade terminals into the meter socket or socket adapter jaw contacts.
Although watthour meters typically remain in place for many years without removal, it still becomes necessary from time to time to remove the meter for accurately testing, repair, replacement or to add additional functionality to the meter socket or watthour meter itself. The smooth, tapered, cylindrical shape of the watthour meter dome or cover makes it difficult to pull the meter from the socket. The dome itself would be a convenient place for a utility service person to grasp the meter and exert a pull-out force as the utility person would like to keep his or her fingers away from the meter mounting base which is generally in close proximity to the live power conductors and jaw contacts in the meter socket. However, heretofore there has been no convenient surface on a watthour meter dome for easy grasping by the utility service person to facilitate removal with low pull-out forces. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a watthour meter which is designed to facilitate easy removal from a meter socket or socket adapter.
When a watthour meter is installed in a meter socket or meter socket adapter mounted in a meter socket, it is critical that the meter line blades be properly oriented for insertion into the meter socket or meter socket adapter line jaw contacts. However, existing watthour meter domes have a round shape which lacks any external visual or tactile indication of a top point or portion of the meter which would insure that the line blades are properly orientated for engagement with the line jaw contacts in the meter socket or meter socket adapter. Without such visual or tactile indication, it is possible for the utility serviceperson to inadvertently insert the meter 90xc2x0 out of normal mounting orientation into the meter socket. This places the one line blade terminal and one load blade terminal of the watthour meter in a direct short position across the meter socket or meter socket adapter line jaw contacts. Such an electrical fault can cause injury to the utility serviceperson and/or damage to the meter socket as a result of a typically explosive short circuit at full line power.
It is also possible for the utility serviceperson to insert the meter 180xc2x0 out of normal mounting orientation into the meter socket or socket adapter. This places the meter in a mounting condition which causes the meter to run backwards thereby subtracting power. Indeed, this is common method of stealing electric power.
These mounting problems are exacerbated in the case of electronic meters which still have a round cross section; but are usually formed with an opaque cover which thereby eliminates any possibility of viewing the internal meter components to determine the proper orientation of the meter for installation in a meter socket or socket adapter. Even the display in such electronic meters is off or blank until the meter is installed in the socket such that the display cannot any visual indication of proper meter mounting orientation during installation.
It is also known to provide an attachable handle to a watthour meter to facilitate removal of the watthour meter from a meter socket. Such a handle requires a complicated attachment mechanism which secures the handles to the meter base flange or via a strap to the cover itself. Such attachable meter handles are difficult to use, have a complicated and therefore costly construction, and still provide only an insecure attachment at best.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a handle which is releasably attachable to a meter cover to facilitate meter removal from a meter socket or meter socket adapter. It would also be desirable to provide a releasably attachable handle for a meter cover which does not interfere with the cover or meter operation. It would also be desirable to provide a releasably attachable handle for a meter cover which can be easily attached and removed from the cover when not in use. It would also be desirable to provide a releasably attachable handle for a watthour meter cover which does not significantly enlarge the meter cover volume.
The present invention is a cover for a watthour meter which has a handle removably attachable thereto to facilitate low pull-out force removal of the watthour meter from a meter socket or meter socket adapter.
The present invention also is a watthour meter having a cover with unique removably attachable handles.
The unique removably attachable cover handle of the present invention provides significant advantages in terms of facilitating easy removal and, in some aspects, installation of a watthour meter, from or to a watthour meter socket or socket adapter mounted in a watthour meter socket. The handle provides a convenient gripping surface for easy pull-out force application to separate the meter from the meter socket or socket adapter. At the same time, the handle does not interfere with the normal function of the cover or viewing of power consumption readout displays through the end wall of the cover.
The removably attachable cover handle according to the present invention addresses a long time problem encountered with the use of watthour meters which lack a convenient surface to facilitate easy, pull-out from a meter socket or meter socket adapter. According to the present invention, the handles or gripping surface is easily attachable to the meter cover to enable a utility serviceperson to easily grasp the cover handle and exert a smooth pull-out force to separate the meter from the meter socket or socket adapter jaw contacts.
The cover handle of the present invention may also be used to increase the installation safety of a watthour meter in a meter socket or socket adapter since selected aspects of the handle receiver, when mounted on the cover at a top or upper position to indicate the normal mounting orientation of the watthour meter in a meter socket, insure that the watthour meter line and load blade terminals are properly aligned with the corresponding line and load jaw contacts in the meter socket or socket adapter. Specifically, the mounting of the handle of the present invention at a position on the cover which would indicate visually as well as tactally the normal top of the watthour meter when the watthour meter is in its normal mounting orientation with respect to the meter socket jaw contacts, can provide a standardized indication of proper meter orientation prior to installation in the meter socket or socket adapter. This increases installation safety by minimizing the possibility of a 90xc2x0 our of orientation mounting of the watthour meter in the meter socket which can cause a dangerous electric fault. This also minimizes the possibility of mounting the watthour meter 180xc2x0 out of normal mounting orientation in a meter socket which is the common method used to steal unmetered electric power.